Waiting on Life
by A Little Distracted
Summary: What happens when the love of your life only sees you as his best friend?  How long would you wait for him?  Is it ever too late to tell someone that you love them? B/E  AU  2 part short story
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters from the stories. The situations in this story are the only thing that belongs to me. No copyright infringement is intended. All of my stories are beta'd by my best friend and biggest supporter, NoWayWithWords. I appreciate everything she has done for me.**

**Waiting on Life**

**A Little Distracted**

**Part 1**

BPOV

I first met Edward Masen in my sophomore year of high school. He and his parents moved to town in the middle of the first semester. Edward was two years older than me, so he was already a senior.

They had moved to the tiny town of Forks for Edward's father's health. He had horrible ulcers that were brought on by stress. Edward's mother had vacationed nearby as a child, so when the doctors decided that her husband needed to get away from the stressful life of a big Chicago Bank President; she suggested they give our tiny town a try.

Edward was not happy about moving during his senior year, so he rebelled quite a bit. He started drinking and hanging with the wrong crowd. His parents did everything they could to try to reel him in, but it was no use. It seemed like everything he did was specifically designed to piss them off.

The first time Edward spoke to me was after school on a Wednesday, two months after his arrival. I was having trouble getting my rusty old truck started and most everyone else had left already. I was just about to throw in the towel and walk home in the rain, when Edward came strolling out of the woods smoking a cigarette and sporting a fresh new hickey. His beautiful coppery hair was in even more disarray than usual, giving him that 'freshly fucked' look.

He walked up to me and said, "What's wrong? This piece of shit won't start?"

It took me a moment to figure out how to respond. The boy of my dreams was actually speaking to me in real life. I was in hormone overload, so I answered with the first thing that came to mind. "Duh."

As soon as I realized what I said, I blushed furiously. Edward just laughed and said, "Come on. I'll give you a ride home."

I thanked him and followed him to his beautiful silver Volvo. Not only was Edward Masen drop dead gorgeous, but his family was also filthy rich. Edward's father came from a long line of 'old money' and just added to it with his career in banking. Edward's mother was a housewife, as far as I could tell. The only thing she did outside of the house was volunteer at the local hospital.

I brushed off as much of the rain as possible before climbing into his car.

"Thanks for the ride. I'm Bella... Bella Swan."

He gave me a cocky half grin and said, "I know. You're the police chief's daughter. Everyone knows who you are."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I sat in dumb silence the rest of the ride home. I didn't even have to give him directions to my house. He drove straight there. When he pulled up to the curb, I thanked him for the ride.

As I climbed out of his car, he just shrugged and said, "No big deal." When I closed the door, he drove away.

We really didn't have that much more interaction before he graduated and went off to college, but I did get to know his mother a lot better over the years. Elizabeth was a force to be reckoned with. She volunteered at the hospital three days a week, in the children's ward. She single-handedly stocked the tiny hospital with toys, games, and books for the kids. She also recruited volunteers in the community to come out and read stories or do arts and crafts with the kids.

That's how I got to know her. I was recruited for story time a few times and then she talked me into helping out with a Christmas party for the kids. It was great. That's what inspired me to become a pediatric nurse.

I had been working at Forks General Hospital for a few years, but still lacked seniority over the other pediatric nurses, who had apparently been working at the hospital since the stone ages. This meant that I was stuck working nights most of the time. I didn't mind it much. It was quiet, so I could easily get my work done without having to listen to all the gossip that went on during the day.

It was the late hours and the lack of gossip that allowed me to totally miss the arrival of the hot new surgeon, Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He worked at the hospital for nearly a month before I ran into him.

A seven year old little girl was brought into the emergency room in the middle of the night. She was terrified. She had been in a terrible car accident. Her father had died on impact and her mother was in surgery. Once she was treated for her injuries, she was moved to the children's wing for observation.

I sat with her and kept her distracted while we waited to hear the news about her mom. Dr. Cullen came by when he finished up to let the girl know that her mother was going to be fine but needed to sleep for a few hours, so she couldn't see her just yet. The knowledge that her mom was okay allowed the girl to relax enough that she was finally able to get some sleep as well.

When Dr. Cullen came by later to check on her, we started talking. I found that I enjoyed his company quite a bit. He was good-looking, with broad shoulders, blond hair, and eyes that looked like golden honey, but once you got past the exterior, he was much more than just good looks. He was also a good person.

He was married to a beautiful woman named Esme. Just one look at the two of them together and it was obvious that he was head over heels in love with her. He and his wife lived in a huge house on the edge of town with Esme's nephew, Jasper, and his wife, Alice.

I met them when they volunteered for the hospital's annual children's Christmas party. They were all good people. Alice and I hit it off right away and in no time, she became my best friend.

In June of that year, Mr. Masen was put back in the hospital with ulcers, only this time, he was under the care of Dr. Cullen, instead of his high-priced private Chicago doctor. Dr. Cullen ran a few tests and found that Mr. Masen had stomach cancer. Apparently he'd had it for years. If it had been caught in time, it could have been easily treated, but because it had been overlooked for so long, it had spread throughout his body. Dr. Cullen said he had only months to live.

Elizabeth was devastated by the news. She couldn't bring herself to admit that there was anything wrong with her husband, so I took it upon myself to call Edward. I got his number from his mother's cell phone and waited until I was off of my shift to call, so it was pretty early in the morning.

Edward was still half asleep when I called. I hated waking him with such bad news, but I figured he deserved to know what was going on. His voice was rough from sleep, but still sounded just like I remembered.

"Hello?"

"Edward? This is Bella Swan. I don't know if you remember me, but I'm friends with your mom."

There was a pause. I heard movement and then Edward said, "The police chief's daughter. I remember. Mom talks about you sometimes."

I took a deep breath and said, "I hate to call you so early in the morning, but your parents need you. Your dad is back in the hospital. I don't know all of the details, but apparently he has cancer. Dr. Cullen says he doesn't have much time left."

There was a crack in Edward's voice when he said, "How much time?"

"A couple of months at most."

Edward gasped and said, "How is Mom taking it?"

"Not good. She is in denial. She didn't even want to call and let you know because she thinks it's just a false alarm." I paused for a moment and said, "I'm really not supposed to be going against her wishes and calling you, but I thought you should know."

Edward cleared his throat and said, "Thank you for calling, Bella. I appreciate it."

Edward moved back to Forks that evening. He stayed with his mom and visited his dad every day until the end. I saw him in the halls at the hospital, but we didn't really talk. On the day that his father died, I found him crying in the chapel. My heart broke for him. I couldn't help myself, so I walked over and wrapped my arms around him. I held him while he cried for the loss of his father and prayed for the strength to help his mom.

Elizabeth completely shut down after her husband's death. She stopped talking and eating. She didn't go anywhere or do anything. She simply sat at home, staring at the walls. She wouldn't shower or dress herself. It was like she was just waiting for death to come take her. The only thing she did do for herself was go to the bathroom. I think her pride kept her from soiling herself more than anything.

Edward called me a few days after his father's funeral.

"Bella? Hey, it's Edward. I'm sorry to bother you, but I need some help. Mom's not exactly functioning very well right now so I don't feel comfortable leaving her alone and I have to head back to Chicago to deal with my dad's estate and move my fiancé."

I felt my heart sink. I didn't know Edward was engaged. Elizabeth had never mentioned it. I wondered why she didn't come to her future father-in-law's funeral. Surely she would have wanted to be there for Edward. Instead, he was crying on my shoulder. I tried to shake off my doubts and questions to focus on the conversation.

"How can I help you, Edward?"

"Can you watch my Mom for a couple of days? I can schedule it around your days off from the hospital, so you don't have to miss work. I just thought she would be more comfortable with someone she knows..."

"Sure, Edward, that won't be a problem. My next days off will be Wednesday and Thursday. Is that okay?"

"That's perfect. Thank you, Bella. You don't know how much I appreciate this. I'll make an appointment with the lawyers and tell Tanya to start packing our things. Once I get her moved, she can stay with mom during the day while I work on finding a job."

"I figured you would want to move her back to Chicago with you. You always hated Forks."

Edward sighed, "I never really hated Forks. I just hated the timing of the move and the lack of consideration for my life. It was a huge change for me. I went from the best private school in Chicago to a tiny public school in the middle of nowhere that didn't even have enough money for decent lab equipment."

I laughed, "You're right. The lab equipment did suck. I hear they have gotten a few more microscopes since then."

I heard Edward chuckle on the other end of the line. "Maybe, if they have a good year, they might be able to afford a brand new box of slides."

"Don't get your hopes up, Edward."

We talked for a few minutes about my schedule and Elizabeth's routine before we got off of the phone. A few days later, I arrived at Elizabeth's huge house with a duffle bag, ready to spend a couple nights. Edward showed me to the guest room and thanked me again before he rushed out of the house and headed for the airport.

Elizabeth was relatively cooperative while I was taking care of her. She let me bathe and dress her with no problem at all. She even ate, when I fed her. Of course, she didn't feed herself, but she did chew and swallow the food I put in her mouth. I even think she was kind of paying attention to the television shows that I put on for her. I was pretty sure that within a few more weeks, she would come around and be back to normal.

Edward called each evening to check on his mother. I told him about my observations and he seemed genuinely excited. I really hoped that things were starting to look up for him. Like Edward, I thought that having his future wife with him would make things easier, unfortunately we were both wrong.

Tanya moved to town with an attitude from hell. She was rude and obnoxious to everyone. She didn't even bother trying to learn people's names. If she was talking directly to someone, she would say, "Hey you." If she was referring to someone she would say things like, "That fat chick," or "The ugly guy over there."

Edward made excuses for her, claiming that she was just really bad with names. I think she was just a flaming bitch.

Since there aren't many places to work in Forks, Edward got a job processing insurance claims at the hospital. That left Tanya at home with Elizabeth. On the first day, Edward came home to find Elizabeth still sitting in bed in her pajamas. Her breakfast was sitting on her dresser, untouched. Tanya had not fed her all day and did not clean her up or dress her. Edward explained what she needed to do and even made a list for her, but she ignored it.

The next day, Edward got his mom dressed and fed her breakfast before he left for work. When he called around lunch time to remind Tanya to feed her, Tanya lied and said that she already had. Edward found out from a neighbor that Tanya hadn't been home all afternoon, so there was no way she could have given Elizabeth anything for lunch.

This went on for a couple more weeks before Edward finally broke down and paid for a home healthcare nurse to stay with her during the day. The following week, Tanya moved Elizabeth out of the master bedroom and into the smallest bedroom, while Edward was at work. Edward was upset, but he didn't confront her about it, so it stayed that way.

A few weeks later, I was transferred to the day shift because one of the older nurses retired. While I was working days, I would see Edward in the halls, so we started eating lunch together. He would tell me about his frustrations with Tanya and his mom, and I would give advice when he asked for it.

Within three months of living in Forks, Tanya had pretty much alienated, or at least offended, almost everyone in town. Edward was being a complete idiot and making excuses for her behavior, which pissed people off even more.

When Tanya got drunk at the company Christmas party and started telling everyone how much she hated Elizabeth and couldn't wait to get back to Chicago, Edward finally stood up to her. He told her that he was staying in Forks, so she either needed to learn to like it or she could leave without him.

I didn't expect that she would stick around, but she did. She told Edward that the reason she had not tried to get settled in Forks was because she felt like he wasn't serious about their relationship. Instead of calling her out on her bullshit, he drove her skanky ass to the courthouse and married her. After that, she was still a snobby bitch to everyone, but at least she made an effort to learn a few people's names.

When Edward told me that he had married Tanya, I thought I was going to be sick. We were sitting at lunch. He was smiling from ear to ear, so I asked why. He said, "Yesterday I took off from work early and drove Tanya to the courthouse in Port Angeles to get married."

The room started to spin. Edward and I had been getting much closer and spending more time together, since he moved back. I couldn't deny that I was starting to have feelings for him. This didn't feel like the crush I had on him in high school. This was... more. I couldn't believe that he didn't feel it too.

I choked back my pain and said, "She's such a bitch, Edward. Why would you do that? You deserve so much better."

Edward sat there with his mouth hanging open, as I got up and walked away. I couldn't stay there and listen to his excuses, and I didn't have an appetite any longer. Edward didn't come after me. As a matter of fact, Edward didn't even speak to me for almost a month. Instead, he spent all of his spare time with Dr. Cullen. They were becoming best friends, while I watched from the sidelines.

Alice and I started hanging out again, which is something that pretty much came to a halt when Edward and I started getting close. She always had a way of cheering me up when I was down.

We were out shoe shopping on one of my rare Saturdays off when Alice turned to me and said, "You're in love with him."

"Who?"

"You know who. Don't try to pretend. I've seen the way the two of you look at each other when you talk. It's pretty obvious."

I sighed and sat down on the little bench they had in the store for you to sit on while trying on shoes. "It doesn't matter, Alice. He doesn't feel the same way about me."

"You don't know that, Bella. Maybe he just hasn't figured it out yet?"

"He married Tanya! He has to love her or he wouldn't have married her."

Alice handed me a pair of strappy sandals to try on. "I don't understand his motives for marrying that harpy, I just know what I see, and I can see that he loves you."

"Well, he made his decision. I don't think it was the right one, but it was the one that he chose, so he has to live with it. I'm not the kind of woman who will mess around with a married man, so as long as their marriage is intact, he will never know how I feel."

Alice shook her head, "You can't hide love, Bella. It radiates from your every pore."

I rolled my eyes and said, "I guess I'll have to buy stronger deodorant."

She was right though. I couldn't stop loving Edward, but I could stop myself from acting on it and telling him about my feelings. Eventually, we went back to being the best of friends and in the years that followed, I stood by his side, never letting on to the pain that I felt inside.

I was there beside him when his mother succumbed to pneumonia. I helped him with her funeral arrangements while Tanya spent the day at the spa, "making sure she looked fresh for all of the people that would be dropping by to pay their respects."

The following year, I stood by silently while he gloated all the way through Tanya's pregnancy. She was even more miserable than ever to deal with, while Edward simply beamed with pride. I was there with him when he dealt with the shock when the baby that Tanya was carrying turned out to be not only someone else's, but half African-American.

I thought for sure that Edward would have left her for the being the cheating, bitchy, gold digging whore that she was, but instead he pulled the wool over his own eyes and chose to believe Tanya's lies. She told him that she knew he wanted a baby and that it wasn't working out, so she went to a sperm bank. The sperm bank must have given her the wrong stuff.

The whole town knew the truth. The little girl, Irina, looked a lot like Laurent, the home healthcare worker that had been taking care of Elizabeth before she died. Instead of confronting her about it, he turned a blind eye to it and treated that little girl just like she was his very own. Part of me wanted to slap him for being so blind, but part of me wanted to kiss him for having such a big heart.

With each day of each passing year, I fell deeper and deeper in love with Edward Masen. Alice was the only one that knew how strong my feelings for him were. I think Dr. Cullen suspected, because he hung around Edward just about as much as I did, but he never let on.

On Irina's third birthday, Edward and Tanya threw a huge party out at their house. I think half the town must have been there. I was standing in the kitchen talking to Dr. Cullen and his wife when Edward came walking in. He looked upset. His eyes were red rimmed and swollen, like he had been crying. He walked up to the counter and poured himself a strong drink before turning and marching up the stairs to his office.

I excused myself and followed him. I knocked on the door lightly before opening the door and stepping inside.

"Edward, are you ok?"

Edward was sitting at his desk with his head down. His fingers were gripping his permanently disheveled hair in frustration. He closed his eyes and said, "I'm not blind, and I'm definitely not stupid."

I paused, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't, I asked, "Edward, what happened?"

Edward opened his eyes and gave me a look that was full of hurt and heartbreak. "Tanya invited Laurent to the party. Supposedly my daughter has never seen him before, yet as soon as he walked into the room she jumps up from opening her presents and runs into his arms. She hates strangers. She would never do that unless she really knew him."

I didn't know what to say. I sat in the chair on the other side of the desk from him and gave him a sympathetic look.

Edward ran his fingers through his hair again and said, "Do you know that Tanya has been paying for a fully furnished apartment in Port Angeles since mother died? She has been slowly draining our bank account dry for years. She spends more time at the spa than she does at home. I'm just glad I was smart enough to keep my parents' money separated from my own money or who knows what all she would have blown it on by now."

"What are you going to do?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago." Edward pulled some papers out of his desk drawer and said, "I sent the proof of her indiscretions to my attorney in Chicago. After the party, I'm going to ask her to leave."

"What about Irina?"

Edward looked pained. "I'm going to offer to keep her, but she is obviously not my child, and I never officially adopted her, so I have no say so over what Tanya does with her."

I got up and went around the desk to give him a hug. He stood up and wrapped his arms around me. We stood that way for longer than was appropriate, then I heard him whisper, "Bella, please tell me the truth. Do you care for me like I care fore you? I know things are really crazy right now, but I've been feeling this for a long time and I just can't fight it anymore. I don't want to look like I'm trying to jump from one relationship right into another one, but I just need to know if this is a figment of my imagination or if this is real."

I felt like my heart was going to explode. I squeezed him tighter and whispered, "It's real, Edward. I feel it too. It's real."

Just then we heard someone coming up the stairs, so Edward kissed my cheek and promised to call me later as we walked out of the office and rejoined the party.

I didn't see Edward again that night. He didn't call the next morning either. By lunch time, I was beginning to think that he chickened out and didn't tell her to get out. By dinner time, I was beginning to get worried, so I called his cell phone. There was no answer.

At 8:00 pm, I drove to his house and found the police tape. Investigators where still on the scene collecting evidence. I don't remember parking and getting out of the car, I just remember them saying that Edward Masen had been bludgeoned to death in his sleep by a home invader and the house was robbed.

They said that Tanya and Irina were lucky that they were not at home when it happened or they could have been killed too. Apparently Tanya found the body when she got home and called the police.

I was vaguely aware of cool hands lifting me up and leading me back to my car. I don't remember driving home and I'm not sure how I ended up in bed, but Alice arrived at my apartment some time late that night to stay with me. She made several phone calls and found out what she could for me.

Apparently Tanya insisted that Edward's body be cremated as soon as possible, so they didn't have time to wait for the county medical examiner to get back from vacation. Dr. Cullen had to perform the autopsy himself. He took all of the required autopsy photos and collected all of the evidence to hand over to the police, just like the medical examiner would do. He even called the medical examiner to make sure that he didn't miss anything before he handed the body over to the funeral home for cremation.

A memorial service was held in Edward's honor two days after he died. Alice had to come to my apartment and force me to get dressed, so I could attend the service. I really didn't want to go. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. We had finally admitted our feelings for each other after years of waiting and stupidity, only for him to be killed a few hours later.

I sat in the church with the rest of Edward's friends and watched as Tanya went on and on about how she didn't know what she was going to do without her wonderful husband. I watched the people around her offer words of sympathy and comfort. I could do no such thing. I felt nothing but disgust for that woman. I was surprised to see that I didn't even feel jealousy or hatred toward her, even though deep down inside I blamed her for the hell that she put him through.

After the service, Alice and her husband, Jasper, drove me home. They stayed with me for two days to make sure that I was eating and would be alright by myself. Alice even called my boss for me. He knew that Edward and I were really close, so he told me to take the week off.

One week after the funeral, Alice arrived at my doorstep. She brought me some coffee and donuts for breakfast. It was going to be my first day back to work since Edward's death, so I was up and dressed in my scrubs, ready to go. When I opened the door, Alice walked in and said, "You need another day, so I called in for you already."

"I don't understand, Alice. Why would you do that? I'm going to have to go back to that place eventually. I might as well get it over with."

Just as I was finishing my sentence, my phone rang. Alice followed me into the kitchen to answer it. It was a long distance number that I didn't recognize, so I answered cautiously.

The man on the other end of the line said, "May I speak to Isabella Swan, please?"

I figured it was some telemarketer. "This is she, but I'm not interested in buying anything over the phone, so you can save yourself some time."

The man gave a nervous laugh and said, "Ma'am, my name is George Bateman, with Bateman, Botts, and Lebowitz. We are the attorneys responsible for handling the Masen estate. I'm contacting you to see if you will be available at 9:30 today for the reading of the will? We are in town all day today and tomorrow, so if this time doesn't work for you, we can be a little flexible."

"Who all is going to be there?" I pictured myself sitting in a room with a bunch of crying relatives, feeling like I don't belong.

"At Mr. Masen's request, we are doing separate readings for you and the widow. It is not something we typically do, but the Masen's have been our clients for many years."

I looked over at Alice and said, "Can I bring a friend with me?"

"Absolutely, as long as you don't mind them knowing your personal information."

I hung up the phone with the man and asked Alice if she would come with me. I was stunned. I didn't know what to expect. I had never known anyone that had a will, not even my dad. When he had a heart attack shortly after I got out of college, I just took over the bills. I was already a signer on his bank account, so it wasn't a big deal. His life insurance barely covered the cost of his funeral, so I guess there wasn't much to leave to anyone.

Alice and I arrived at the hotel where the attorney was staying about ten minutes early. As we pulled into the parking lot, a very angry looking Tanya was stomping to her car. Luckily she didn't see me. We waited for her to leave before we went inside.

Alice walked me to the hotel conference room that the attorneys were using, but said she would be waiting outside the door if I needed her. With shaky hands I knocked. A short round man opened the door with a warm smile. "You must be Isabella. I'm George Bateman. We spoke on the phone this morning. This is my colleague, Jason Botts. Please come in and have a seat."

I shook their hands and walked with shaky legs over to the table. Jason, the tall thin one, poured me a glass of water and sat it in front of me. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms Swan."

"Please, call me Bella."

He gave me a nod and said, "Very well, Bella it is." He pulled out a stack of papers and handed me a copy. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

I nodded my head and looked down at the papers in front of me. It was Edward's last will and testament. I quickly glanced at the date and his signature on the back page as they began to speak. It was dated four months prior to his death. Mr. Botts read the will word for word, leaving in all of the legal mumbo jumbo. By the time he finished, I had no idea what he had just said, so I turned to Mr. Bateman and said, "Can you translate that, please?"

Mr. Bateman said, "Bella, Mr. Masen left you his parent's estate, with the exception of the home that his widow currently resides in."

My brain was all fogged. "I don't understand."

"The widow Tanya Masen gets to keep the house that she currently lives in and all of the furniture that is currently in it, the car she currently drives, what is remaining in the joint bank account that they shared, and one quarter of the life insurance money that he received through his place of employment, minus burial expenses. The other three quarters will be held for the child, Irina Masen, when she turns 25. All of Mr. Cullen's remaining assets, which primarily come from his parents' combined estates, will now belong to you. A summary of those assets are listed in the second packet in front of you. There is also a sealed letter addressed to you."

He pointed to an envelope with my name clearly printed on the front in Edward's elegant script. I opened it.

_Bella, _

_If you are reading this, then that means that I am no longer alive. I hope that I lived a long life and managed to find at least some spark of happiness before I died. I also hope that I finally worked up the courage to tell you how much I adore you. I always have, even when we were kids in school. _

_My only regret is that I wasted so much time trying to live up to others' expectations. I have known Tanya since we were babies. It was expected that we would end up together, so when I moved back to Chicago, after graduation, that's what happened. Her dad died when we were only seven years old. I promised back then that I would take care of her. Her mother gambled and drank away her inheritance not long before I moved her to Forks. I really thought I was doing the right thing by her, but in doing so, I wasted precious time that I could have spent with someone I really cared about, like you. _

_I am leaving you the inheritance that I received from my parents. I think that they would have approved of this decision. They both loved you very much. All of the family jewels have been locked up in a safe deposit box in the bank where my father used to work. My mother added letters detailing the history behind each piece. Don't let this discourage you from wearing, or selling, them as you wish. Diamonds may last forever, but people don't, so you might as well enjoy them now. _

_Enjoy your life, Bella, and know that wherever I am, I will be watching over you. I hope you find happiness. If we were together, and I really hope that we were, I hope that you move on and find love again. _

_I am happy to have had you in my life. _

_Edward_

Mr. Botts handed me a box of tissue and waited for me to regain some since of composure before directing my attention to the detailed breakdown of my inheritance. With shock I listened to them list off properties in Chicago, New York City, the wine country in California, as well as property abroad in Italy, France, and Switzerland. I had a huge amount of stocks and bonds that kept my portfolio growing. I had eight classic cars that were sitting in storage, along with countless pieces of art and antiques. That's not even mentioning the jewels, and the money that I would be receiving monthly for the rest of my life. Basically, I would never have to work again, if I didn't want to.

They had tons of forms for me to sign, which took forever. I felt bad for Alice having to wait for me the entire time. By the time I had the last paper signed, it was well after lunch time and I was starving. There was a light knock on the door before Alice let herself in and brought deli sandwiches for everyone. The attorneys seemed especially thankful.

I agreed to keep them on in my regime, so to speak, as well as the family's tax accountant. They all seemed relieved to hear that. They warned me to look out for scams and people begging for money for crooked charities because crooked people like to prey on people that have just lost loved ones. I promised that I would be cautious and avoid anyone asking for money.

As we were getting ready to leave, Mr. Bateman whispered, "Watch out for Tanya Masen. She was very upset that you were included in the will. She is going to try to contest it, claiming that she is the rightful beneficiary. I wouldn't put it past her to do something malicious. Take care of yourself."

I thanked him and then we left. Alice and I drove straight to the bank, so I could get a safe deposit box for all of the paperwork. I didn't feel comfortable with it sitting around my tiny apartment. Once we were finished there, Alice took me home.

As we were walking up the steps, we were stopped by the police. They had just gotten a warrant to search my apartment. Once they realized that I was a major beneficiary in Edward's will, no thanks to a phone call from Tanya, I became a suspect. They also found one of my hairs on Edward's shirt, which probably ended up there when I hugged him before leaving the party.

The police made a huge mess of things while they looked for bloody clothing and some strangely shaped object. Alice stayed with me the entire time. Before the police left, the inspector came by to apologize. "I'm really sorry for all the trouble, Bella. I worked with your dad for many years. He was a good man. I knew he didn't raise you to be no cold blooded killer. We're just under a lot of pressure to get somewhere on this case."

"I understand, Paul. I know you guys are just trying to do your job. If you don't mind me asking, what item are you looking for?"

"I'm really not supposed to talk about the case, Bella. You know that."

I gave him a knowing look. "You don't know, do you?"

"A lot of stuff was stolen, so we can't be sure what it was. We assume it was something that was already in his office, but it could have been anything. The killer could have brought it in from another room."

I closed my eyes and pictured the office, before I left it. "Edward had a bunch of books on the shelves, so there wasn't a lot of room for other stuff in there. He had some Spartan head bookends on one shelf. There was a brass pencil cup sitting on his desk that was shaped like the head of a golf club. On the little table beside his guest chair was a plant and a cast iron bear that was about the size of my shoe. There was also a crystal candy dish on that table. I used to joke with him that it looked like the bear was eating up the candy."

Paul flipped through his notes and said, "I don't see a bear listed in the items missing from the household."

"It belonged to Tanya before the marriage, so she might have taken it to her apartment in Port Angeles."

Paul said, "What apartment?"

"Edward told me that Tanya has been keeping an apartment in Port Angeles for years. He thought that was where she was seeing Laurent, who he suspected, was Irina's biological father. He told me on the night of the party that he was going to confront Tanya about her indiscretions and ask her to leave. He said that he sent copies of his proof to his lawyers, but he didn't show me."

Paul jotted down notes and said, "Why didn't you tell us all of this during your interview?"

"It was the day after Edward's funeral. I was still a little shaken and definitely wasn't thinking clearly."

"Can you describe the bear? Was it sitting or standing?"

"There is a picture of it hanging in Edward's office. Well, the picture is actually of Tanya holding Irina when she was a little baby, but you can see the bear in the picture. He's standing on three legs with a paw reaching out, like he's going to catch some fish."

Paul picked up his cell phone and called someone. He reminded me not to leave town, and the scurried off, leaving Alice and I to clean up the huge mess all by ourselves.

Two days later, Tanya was arrested for the murder of her husband. The police found the bear in her Port Angeles apartment. Even though she tried to wash it, the iron was porous enough that it still contained traces of blood. They also found traces of blood in her car.

Laurent went to court to get custody of Irina when Tanya was found guilty. He was a good man. He just happened to fall for the wrong woman. He admitted that he really thought he loved Tanya at first, but then he started to see that she was just manipulating everyone around her. He was happy when the courts gave him full custody of his daughter.

Not long after the trial ended, Dr. Cullen got a job offer to work in a huge hospital in LA. We all hated to see him go, but it was a job opportunity of a lifetime, so we understood. When he moved, of course his entire family moved with him, including Alice.

With both Alice and Edward gone, I had nothing left to hold me to Forks, so I decided to go check out my properties overseas. I spent a couple of months at each house, enjoying the scenery and seeing the sights. Once I finished with the places abroad, I started with the places in the US. I saved Chicago for the last, because that was the home Edward grew up in.

When I walked into the Chicago house, I was amazed at how different it was from the house in Forks. This house was full of deep rich woodwork and antiques, where the house in Forks was light and airy with modern looking furniture. I found Edward's childhood bedroom. It was decorated in a baseball motif. He even had signed baseballs in display cases on the shelf.

I stretched out on his bed and cried myself to sleep. I slept there every night that I stayed in that house, wrapped up in his blankets and sleeping on his pillow even though it smelled a little dusty. Instead of venturing out to explore the city, I chose to stay indoors and explore Edward's past. I found his high school yearbook and saw where he had drawn a heart around my picture with a note that said, "Future girlfriend."

I also found newspaper clippings from the Forks Herald that had a picture of me and my dad smiling at my graduation and another one announcing my father's death. It was proof that even when he left town and came back to his home, Edward still thought about me.

I wrote Edward letters and read them out loud before burning them and letting the ashes scatter in the wind. I said a prayer that angels would carry my messages to heaven, so Edward would know just how much I loved and missed him.

I was all alone in the world with no desire to move forward and no way to move back. I wrote stories of heartbreak and loss, just to get it off of my mind. There were no happy endings to my stories so I decided to keep them to myself, rather than share them with the world. No one deserved to be as depressed as me.

One day, a beautiful woman named Rosalie came to visit me out of the blue. She brought me a newspaper. It was only then that I realized that I had not showered in nearly a week and I hadn't eaten in a couple of days.

Rosalie came the following day and brought me a hamburger. I barely managed to force down half of it. She asked me why I was wasting away, locked inside a dusty old mansion. I told her that it was the only place I could be with my Edward. She didn't ask me to clarify and I didn't offer. She started coming once a day, making sure I ate and helping me clean the old house. I offered to pay her, but she refused to take my money.

One day Rosalie came by and told me that she was going to take me to a park. The sky was a little overcast, and the temperature was dropping quite a bit, but we went anyway. We wandered down a walking path and passed some dense bushes. As we walked, the wind shifted and I caught a whiff of something that smelled remarkably like Edward.

I froze in my tracks. Rosalie stopped and turned around, "Bella, come on. It looks like it's going to rain. We should be getting back."

I couldn't convince my feet to take another step. I closed my eyes and sniffed the air again. The wind was whipping in the wrong direction at first, but when it abruptly changed directions, I smelled it again. My body went into complete shut down mode as I dropped to my knees and whimpered, "Edward."

Rosalie said, "What is wrong? Did you twist your ankle or something?"

"No, Rosalie. I can feel Edward's presence here. Sometimes I can feel him when I'm sleeping. I've even imagined him standing in the room just as I open my eyes, but he is always gone before my eyes can focus. But here, I can both feel him and smell him."

Rosalie gave me a sad look, "You really loved him, didn't you?"

"More than you can imagine. Sometimes I feel like he's right here with me, somewhere just out of reach, but other times I feel so alone. When I dream at night, it's like he is right here with me. When I wake up, my heart breaks all over again. It makes me wish that I could just fall asleep and never wake up again."

Rosalie looked nervous, "Bella, please tell me you would never do something crazy."

"I can't, Rosalie. If I killed myself, I'm afraid that I won't end up in the same place as Edward. If he is in heaven, then I want to be right there beside him. If he is in hell, then I will gladly welcome the flames if it will bring him closer to me. I don't want heaven if he's not in it."

"Bella, don't you think Edward would have wanted you to let go and enjoy your life? You should be out exploring the world. Meet new people. Maybe you will fall in love again and have fat little babies."

"I don't want babies if Edward's not there beside me to help raise them. There is no other person out there for me. Edward was my soul mate. I could feel it way back in high school. As we got older, the feelings grew even stronger. No one and nothing could compare to Edward. In my eyes, he was the world. When I left Forks, I traveled to the different Masen family homes, but you know what was missing from each one? Edward. Kneeling right here, I feel closer to him than I have felt since the night of his murder. If that means I get a little wet and catch a little cold, then so be it."

Rosalie's cell phone rang a few minutes later. It was her husband, Emmett. He was coming to the park to give us a ride home, but I still refused to leave. The sun went down and the sky turned dark. Rosalie sent her husband to the car to being me a jacket.

While he was gone, everything seemed to happen at once. A group of guys started walking up the path toward us. Rosalie's cell phone started going crazy. There was a rustling coming from the thick bushes and a growling that sounded like it was coming from a wild animal. I stood and turned to run from the sound in the bushes as Rosalie reached to stop my retreat. I vaguely remember her telling me to freeze, but I was already in mid turn, so I toppled to the ground, cutting my hand on a piece of glass.

Rosalie gasped and reached for me, but then whispered a soft apology before disappearing practically into thin air. One of the guys walking up the path was laughing with his buddies and waving a gun around. He pointed the gun at the sound coming from the bushes and pulled the trigger.

Instinctively, I launched myself in front of the ferocious sounding creature in the bushes and took the bullet, in order to save its life. I don't know why, but something deep inside of me knew that that vicious sounding creature was the thing that smelled like Edward.

I didn't feel the bullet enter my body. Actually, I didn't really even notice I had been shot at all, until I saw the men running. As soon as they turned the corner and were out of sight, Dr. Cullen and Rosalie's husband, Emmett, appeared out of nowhere. They were talking really fast, so I couldn't understand what they were saying.

Emmett took off his shirt and handed it to Dr. Cullen before he disappeared. Dr. Cullen was holding the shirt on my wound, like a bandage, while he quickly assessed my condition.

"Bella, listen to me closely. You have a collapsed lung and it sounds like the bullet may have nicked your heart. The ambulance isn't going to make it on time. I have the ability to save you, but doing so will change everything you knew about the world. I'm giving you the choice I never had. Do you want me to save you and make you immortal?"

I gasped and coughed, spitting up blood, as I said, "I want to be with Edward. Let me go where he went."

My world started to dim. I could barely make out a mess of wild coppery hair before my vision faded completely. I felt cool hands grabbing me and then wind all around me. I thought I heard someone set the deadbolt on a lock. I felt a sharp pain in my neck, wrists, and ankles, and then I felt the fire. My brain took a moment to process before it realized what was going on.

I could here Edward's voice telling me that it was going to be alright and that he was right there beside me. I could hear my voice, like it was coming from an old recording being played in a room that was down a long empty hallway. "Edward, you must have been a pretty bad boy, to end up in hell like this."

I could hear myself whimper and moan. The flames never seemed to stop. I could hear myself bitching about the pain and discomfort every now and then, but I also heard laughter from people all round me.

I felt like I had no control over the words as I heard myself say, "This fucking sucks, Edward. I don't like this at all."

I could hear Edward's voice telling me, "I know it sucks, Bella. I promise it will all be over in a few days."

"A few days, my ass! This shit is over right now. I'm done."

I heard Dr. Cullen say, "Bella, I'm really sorry, but the pain you are experiencing is going to last three days. Once it stops, you will never have to deal with it again."

"Fuck you, Doc. This sucks. I'm done."

I mentally shut down and compartmentalized the pain. I imagined myself putting up an impenetrable wall around my body, to separate myself from the fires that were burning me alive. Once the walls were firmly in place, I sat back and waited for what felt like an eternity.

The walls of my little cocoon were so thick that I could not see, smell, hear, or feel anything that was going on around me. I was in a self-imposed pit of darkness. The longer I stayed in the dark, the more I thought about Edward and began to question my sanity.

Edward was dead. I knew this. The police had shown me the autopsy pictures. I read the report. I was at the funeral. I knew he was gone. If I was hearing Edward's voice, that would mean that I was either dead, or I was hallucinating. Instead of breaking down my imaginary walls and taking a look around, I decided to give it some more time.

**A/N: This is only a two chapter short story, so I won't waste your time with a lot of drabble. On to the last half of Waiting on Life….**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters from the stories. The situations in this story are the only thing that belongs to me. No copyright infringement is intended. All of my stories are beta'd by my best friend and biggest supporter, NoWayWithWords. I appreciate everything she has done for me.**

**Waiting on Life**

**A Little Distracted**

**Part 2**

EPOV

When I awoke to this new life, there were only three things on my mind: first was my overwhelming thirst for blood, the second was my love for Bella, and the third was how on earth I could stop all of the voices that were constantly running through my head. Once we determined that the voices were the thoughts of others around me, the family started learning to mask their thoughts, which made that aspect of this life a little more tolerable. They taught me to hunt, which helped with the thirst, but nothing could be done about my love for Bella.

I begged Carlisle to let me go to her, but he refused, saying that it was too dangerous. I thought he was full of shit and that he wasn't letting me go because people would freak if they knew I was alive. I tried to sneak away a few times, but Alice kept catching me.

After my fifth failed attempt at escape, Alice pulled me aside and told me that she knew that I was going to be miserable if they didn't let me see Bella, so she offered me a compromise. She and Jasper would plant hidden webcams in the houses that belonged to my family so I could watch her without risking her life. I would do anything to see her again, so I agreed.

I sat at the computer and watched as Bella walked inside my family's Italian villa for the first time. She looked tired and thin. I hoped that it was just an exhausting trip and she would feel better after a good night's rest. Unfortunately, the rest didn't help.

She spent two months in Italy. Every night, when she lay in bed, she would talk to my ghost and tell me about her day. I was thankful that Jasper installed microphones when he installed the cameras, because I was able to hear her talk to me easily. Unfortunately, I could also hear her cry herself to sleep every night. I could also hear her nightmares and watch her toss and turn in bed. It was horrible.

When she came back to the US, she went to stay in our house in New York City, which wasn't far from where we were all living, so I begged and pleaded with Carlisle to let me go see her.

He surprised me when he offered a compromise. He told me that if I could prove to him that I was safe to be around humans, and promised that Bella would never know that I was there, I could go see her in her sleep.

I jumped on the chance. Alice and I worked on desensitizing me to the scent of humans. Alice would even sneak into Bella's place and borrow her clothing, so I could get used to her scent.

On the night before she left New York City, I was able to sneak into her room and watch her sleep. She looked even worse in person than she did on camera. I could see the dark circles under her eyes and smell her tears. Her pillow was still damp from her crying.

She stirred slightly in her sleep and whispered my name. She sounded so hopeful. I couldn't help it; I had to talk to her. I did so in such a soft whisper that I knew her human ears wouldn't be able to hear. I just hoped that her subconscious would pick up my presence and sooth her broken heart.

When she left New York, she headed to California. I couldn't follow her there, but I watched her on the webcam. She didn't stay there very long before she headed to the house where I grew up, in Chicago.

I thought my heart was going to break in two when I watched her walk into my childhood bedroom. She completely collapsed. I was tempted to take off running and head straight there. The only thing stopping me was my new family. Carlisle and I talked about what I wanted for Bella. He and I agreed that we thought she deserved a long happy life with a husband that could love her and a house full of children. We also both agreed that I could not be that person for her. Sure, I could love her for all eternity, but what life would we have together? I could never give her children. I would not grow old with her. We would constantly have to move around, so no one would notice that I didn't age. The moving would keep her from ever being able to settle down and make lifelong friends. She didn't deserve that. She deserved much better, so I agree to stay away and keep my anonymity.

I watched her withering away to the point that I seriously thought she was going to start having severe health issues. I voiced my concerns to Carlisle and asked him to sit in my room with me, so he could see her on the webcam and tell me that she was ok.

He came in and sat with me just as she was waking up to slip off into the bathroom. When she stood, Carlisle gasped. He had not seen her gradually decline, so it was very drastic to him.

When she came back from the bathroom, she climbed back in bed and went back to sleep. Carlisle asked about her daily routine. I informed him that she was sleeping about 18 hour a day. Some days she didn't eat, but on the days that she did, it was usually just some chips. Carlisle was concerned, so he sent Rosalie and Emmett to Chicago to see if they could get her back on track.

Even though I watched it all on webcam, I lived for the evenings when Rosalie would call to update Carlisle on Bella's condition. Rosalie was making Bella eat more and more. She was also trying to make Bella stay awake for longer periods of time. She told Carlisle that she suspected that Bella was suffering from acute depression. She didn't get the impression that Bella was suicidal, but she didn't think she was particularly interested in living either. She thought that Bella was just biding her time and waiting to die, like my mother did when my father died.

Carlisle decided that we should all head to Chicago, so we could keep an eye on Bella and offer assistance if necessary. As soon as we got there, Carlisle and I snuck into my old house and checked on Bella while she slept.

Carlisle was able to do a general physical exam without even waking her up. I had to leave when he took a vial of blood from her. It surprised us both that she didn't even wake up when he stuck her with the needle.

I started visiting her at nights, while she slept, twice a week. We found that the mornings after my visits, Bella ate better and appeared more rested than she did on other days.

Rosalie suggested that we start Bella on an exercise program. She was going to start taking Bella for walks in the park. A few minutes after she left, Alice called to tell Carlisle that he needed to rush to the park. She didn't have specific details, but she knew something bad was going to happen to Bella.

Carlisle and I rushed to the park. We tried calling Rosalie, but her phone was going to voicemail. The park was in an area with bad cell phone reception. They had just entered the park when we got there, so Carlisle and I hid in some thick bushes.

As they walked closer to us, the wind shifted, so it was at our backs. When Bella picked up my scent, she collapsed to her knees and started crying uncontrollably. Carlisle had to physically restrain me to keep me from going to her.

Rosalie tried to get her to leave, but it wasn't working. A group of guys came staggering into the park a few minutes later. They were drunk and acting like idiots. One of the guys saw Bella fall to her knees and started thinking about all of the dirty things he and his buddies could do to her. He said something to his friends and they all seemed to like his idea. I was so outraged at their thoughts, that I could not control my reaction. The angrier I got, the harder it was for Carlisle to restrain me.

When Bella fell, she cut her hand, so Rosalie had to run. She had not fed in a few days, so it was too risky for her to stay. When the gun went off and Bella was hit, I froze. The men took off running in the opposite direction. Carlisle shot out of the bushes to help Bella. I followed a second later.

Bella's condition was worse than we expected. She was going to die. There was no way to prevent it. Carlisle asked me if I wanted him to change her. I said yes without any hesitation. After asking her, we wrapped her in my jacket and ran to my old house with her bundled in my arms. The others were already gathered there, waiting on us.

Carlisle bit Bella and injected the venom into her system. The first thing it healed was her lungs and she immediately started whimpering and moaning from the pain. Shortly after that, she started cursing. She would spout out random curse words here and there, which cracked everyone up. None of them remembered being able to do anything but scream in pain when they went through the change.

I tried to talk to her and reassure her that it wouldn't last forever, but she told me that she was done. Carlisle tried to convince her that it would only be three days and that she needed to try to hold on, but she refused. She told him that she was done, and then there was silence.

No wore words. No more trembling. No more cries. No faces of pain. No movement. Nothing.

At first I thought that she was pausing to take a deep breath, but I was wrong. If it weren't for the fact that her heart was still beating and she was still breathing, I would have thought that she was dead. Carlisle rushed over to check her more closely. I couldn't block out his thoughts of concern and memories of stories told to him about people that didn't take the change well. He recalled tales about people that went completely insane, or became total vegetables during the process, and had to be destroyed immediately. Jasper, sensing our concern, appeared in the doorway. He took a good look at Bella and gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before walking away. He was trying hard to block out his memories of people that didn't survive the change.

I scooped her up into my arms and held her against my cold, hard chest, "Bella, say something… please! Don't do this. Don't leave me here. Eternity means nothing without you in my life. Please!"

Carlisle gently removed her from my arms and laid her back on the bed. "We need to give her time. It's still early yet. If she wasn't going to survive this, I would think that her heart would have stopped beating already. The fact that it is still going pretty strong means that her body is still pushing the venom through her veins. She still has almost 60 hours left to go."

"What if she is a vegetable, Carlisle? What if she changes, but never wakes up?" I was sobbing uncontrollably and couldn't stop.

Carlisle put his arm around me and held me, like a father would comfort his son. "I think we should try to think positive. The change is different for every one of us. You didn't scream at first either."

"But that's probably because of the brain damage. Once the venom repaired the damage, I screamed until I lost my voice."

Emmett stepped in the doorway and added, "Yes, and then the venom fixed your vocal cords and you started screaming again. In my opinion, this is the way to go. I say we give her 72 hours, just to be sure. If she doesn't wake up by then, we will have to figure out what to do about it. Until then, I think we should be concerned with other things, like what we are going to do in the middle of a busy city with a newborn vampire. I can hear the neighbor's heartbeats from here. When she wakes up, she is going to be stronger than us and that sound is going to drive her nuts."

Carlisle said, "You're right, Emmett. We have to move her to a more remote location. I guess her silence is a blessing right now. It would draw too much attention if the neighbors spotted a group of men driving down the road with a screaming woman in the back. Let me make a phone call and see if I can find us a better location quickly."

Carlisle left the room to start making calls, so Emmett stayed with me.

"Thank you, Emmett."

"What for?"

"For saying, 'when she wakes up' instead of 'if she wakes up.' The others think she's not going to make it or that she will have to be put down like a lame horse."

Emmett gave me a stern look, "Don't listen to them, Edward. She is going to be my little sister in a couple of days, and I'm not going to let any of these people try to convince me otherwise. I think she is going to be just fine. Maybe she has just found a cool way to deal with this that none of us were smart enough to figure out. Besides, people handle pain differently. When I was human, I watched a man at a carnival lay on a bed of nails while someone piled bricks on his chest. He didn't have any problem with the pain. Others would have screamed and cried. Maybe your Bella is like that guy."

"I hope so, Emmett. I really hope so."

BPOV

I sat in my dark cocoon and tried to recall every memory I had in the back of my mind of Edward. I remembered the first time I saw him. He was standing in the office as school, waiting for Mrs. Cope to print out his schedule. He was wearing crisp dark jeans and a mint green oxford shirt. When I stepped into the office, he looked up at me, but didn't smile. He looked bored, but I could tell that he was also nervous.

With him being older than me, I didn't have him in any of my classes, so I didn't see him very often. We had the same lunch, but he didn't eat with the rest of the kids. He snuck out into the forest and smoked with the bad kids. I remembered wondering what all they did out in the woods at lunch time, but I was too much of a coward to ask.

I processed each memory in as much detail as I could, focusing on what Edward was wearing, what he was doing, what he said, and whether or not he was happy. Edward was rarely happy in high school, but then again, I don't think I was really happy either.

I worked my way through the memories of the times when we were starting to become friends, after his father's death. I remembered talking to Elizabeth about things that Edward told me during our time together. I remember seeing a faint smile on her face when I admitted to her that I had a crush on her son.

As I worked my way through my memories of Edward, I found that my other memories were becoming clouded. It was like I was putting forth so much effort to recall all of my Edward memories that everything else was starting to slip through the cracks. I didn't want that to happen, so I categorized important events in my head and focused on them until they were as clear as my Edward memories.

There were some memories that I preferred not to remember clearly, if at all, so I purposely avoided them, like the loss of both of my parents, the first time I saw someone die, and the times that people embarrassed me or hurt my feelings. I knew those memories still existed, but they were so foggy that I really couldn't pinpoint any details of the actual events and I was fine with that.

When I was finished, I decided it was finally time to peek out of the imaginary wall that was shielding me from the world, to see what was going on. I wasn't ready to let the wall down completely, just in case things were still really bad, so I imagined myself stretching the thick wall, so that it became thinner. The thin spot acted like a window, allowing some of the sounds in.

I heard my heart barely sputtering. I heard a familiar female voice saying, "It's time." I heard Edward crying and begging me to please wake up. I heard Dr. Cullen trying to comfort him and tell him that they did the best they could do and that the rest was up to me. I heard another man, telling someone else that I was going to be fine and that I needed some more time. Then I heard my heart make its last beat and then stop.

I was dead.

The room was silent, except for Edward crying and pleading for me to please wake up and be okay. I stretched the window in my imaginary wall even thinner. I could see light streaming through my closed eyelids. In my mind, I made a tiny little hole in the wall, to see if the burning was still going on, but I felt no pain radiating through. What I felt instead was the air moving around my lifeless form.

I could feel Edward's arms around me, as he cried over my body. I could smell his uniquely masculine scent. I always loved that scent. I took a deep breath, just taking it in, and he froze.

I knocked down my imaginary wall, and let the bricks melt away into the recesses of my mind. I realized that I could hear everything. There was a clock somewhere in the house that contained a cog that needed oiling. I could tell by my sense of smell that Edward and I were not alone in the room, but I wasn't exactly sure who the other smells belonged to yet. I had never paid much attention to the way anyone smelled before, except Edward.

I felt warm soft hands cup my cheek, "Bella, please open your beautiful eyes for me. I know things are a little strange right now, and believe me; it is going to get a lot stranger once you really start using all of your new senses, but I really need to see your eyes right now. I've missed you so much. I just need you to look at me. Can you do that for me?" 

I hesitated briefly, and then let one eye crack open a tiny bit, expecting the brightness of the room to hurt my eyes. I was surprised that it didn't hurt at all. I was also surprised at how clear everything was. It was like going from watching a grainy image on an old black and white television that didn't pick up the stations very well, with an inch of dust on the screen, to watching a huge brand new high definition television. I could see the tiniest details in perfect clarity and my eyes were just barely cracked open.

I looked at Edward's handsome smiling face and opened my eyes all the way.

"Good morning, beautiful. I'm so glad you woke up. You had me worried. Do you remember me?" He looked afraid of how I might answer.

I put my hand on his cheek and said, "Edward, what happened to your eyes? They used to be green and now they look almost black?"

The entire house erupted with cheers, which set off all kinds of internal panic alarms. Before I could realize what I was doing, I was off the bed and on my feet, prepared to defend myself against attack. In an instant, I assessed the room and its other occupants. I found that I recognized all of them, but my brain was having a hard time associating them with each other.

Dr. Cullen held his hands up and said, "It's okay, Bella. We are all friends. We mean you no harm. We are all here to welcome you to the family. I know things probably seem very strange right now. I will help you work through all of that, but first, can you tell me if you remember any of us? It's perfectly normal if you don't."

I looked at each person individually and tried to remember them, but the details were jumbled or missing pieces. "You are Dr. Cullen. You are my friend and friends with Edward. You wear a white jacket all the time, even when it's hot outside. You don't dance at Christmas parties."

I looked at the lady standing slightly behind him. "You make cookies and say 'applesauce' when you get frustrated. I know that you are married to Dr. Cullen, but I can't remember your name. I'm sorry."

She gave me a warm smile and said, "That's okay, Bella. I'm surprised you remember that much about me. We didn't spend a great deal of time together, unfortunately. My name is Esme and you can call my husband Carlisle."

I looked to the short lady with the short black hair and huge grin. She was bouncing in place. "Hello, Alice, have you worn a hole in your credit card yet?"

She shot across the room and threw her arms around my neck. I had to resist my instincts to defend myself and fight her off of me. I noticed the blond guy she had been standing with tense up, and then I felt myself relax.

"Oh, Bella, I knew you would remember me! We were best friends, after all. I've missed you so much. I'm so glad you are going to join us. We are going to have a great time, you just wait and see."

She let go of me and stepped aside, so I could continue with the rest of the people in the room. I looked to the blond guy and said, "You are Alice's husband, but I can't remember your name. I'm sorry. I don't think you like me very much."

He smiled and said, "The name is Jasper. We didn't spend much time together. You'll understand why soon enough. Just know that I have never disliked you and I'm pleased that you are with us today."

The other two people in the room looked the most nervous about my appraisal. I had to think really hard to recall them. I looked at the blond woman and said, "I remember that you are kind. You brought me food and visited me when I needed a friend. I remember that your name has something to do with flowers, but I just can't quite…"

She smiled. "Rosalie. The name is Rosalie. Most of the family calls me Rose, though."

The man standing beside her hung his head. "Don't worry about not remembering me, Bella. My name is Emmett."

As soon as I heard his name, I had a crystal clear memory. "Emmett, you are my big brother. You stood up for me and believed in me. How could I ever forget you?"

Emmett's face lit up, showing off his dimples, while everyone else looked confused. Somehow I knew right then, that Emmett and I truly were going to be close like we really were family. I knew I could count on him and knew I would back him unconditionally.

I spent the next year and a half in solitude, getting to know my family and learning how to be a good vegetarian vampire. I only had one mistake, which ended up with a dead UPS man on our doorstep, but thankfully I didn't bite him. He was choking on his gum and I tried to pat him on the back. Unfortunately, I hit him a little hard and snapped his spine. I felt horrible about it and refused to come out of my room for a month. Carlisle and Edward found out that the driver had a long rap sheet as a serial rapist, but got the job using someone else's stolen identity. He was most likely using the delivery job to help him scope out his victims, so I didn't feel so bad about killing him after that.

Edward and I spent every possible moment together. We were living in a beautiful house that Carlisle bought in the middle of nowhere, up in Alaska. Edward and I ran together through the wilderness. The place was absolutely breathtaking. As a child, I had always thought of Alaska as a frozen wasteland, but I found that it is so much more than that. The land was teaming with life and now that I had vampire vision, I could see everything from the caribou that roamed the planes to the tiny little bugs that crawled among the underbrush. There were mountains, waterfalls, lush green lands, marshes, and some area that were permanently marred by glaciers. It was much better than I ever dreamed.

We were out hunting late one night when I stopped on top of a mountain to watch the beautiful colors of the aurora borealis. "Do you think this would have looked half as pretty to us when we were human, Edward?"

"I think it would have been pretty, but I don't know that we would have appreciated the complexity of the colors and everything that makes them, like we do with our current visual capabilities."

"When Carlisle changed you, what impressed you the most about your new senses?"

Edward looked around and said, "I don't know. The vision, hearing, speed, and sense of smell are all pretty impressive, but I think the thing that has impressed me most of all is my ability to love." He turned and looked directly into my eyes. "I loved you when I was human, but I was able to convince myself to push all of that aside in order to do what I thought was right. I was very wrong to do that. I'm sorry, Bella."

"I know, Edward. But all of that is behind us now."

He took my hands and said, "When I look back at how many years I wasted trying to keep a promise that I made as a child, I could kick myself for being so stupid. When I opened my eyes and saw the brilliant sunrise for the first time with vampire vision, I knew that nothing I could ever see could compare to your beauty. As I sat in the treetops, listening to the beautiful songs of the birds in springtime, I knew that nothing I could ever hear would compare to the sound of your laughter. When I smelled fresh freesia blooming in the fields, I knew that nothing could ever compare to the smell that you left behind after I hugged you that last time. As I ran across the desert at lightning speed, I knew that it would mean nothing unless I was running to you. Now that I have you by my side, I know that I could never love anyone more than I love you. You are my reason for existing and I vow to never let anything come between us again."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him tight. "You don't know how long I have waited to hear you say that. I love you, too. I always have."

He caressed my cheek and said, "Bella, I promise to treat you better than any other boyfriend has ever treated you."

I'm sure I would have been blushing if I were still human. "There have never been any other boyfriends, Edward. My heart has always belonged to you. I couldn't bear the thought of letting another man kiss my lips, touch me, or even hold my hand. It just seemed wrong, so I focused on my education and my career. I tried to have faith that we would be together again, somehow, even when I thought you were dead."

Edward leaned in and brushed his lips softly against mine, "I'm glad that you believed in us. I promise to make it well worth the wait. I will spend all of eternity finding new ways to make you happy." I couldn't ask for a better first kiss.

He pulled back slightly and looked deep into my eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Our lips met again, only this time they lingered. If I were human, my heart would have been pounding in my chest. I felt the tip of his tongue brush lightly against my bottom lip. I buried my hands in his hair as I opened my mouth to him. This kiss was much more passionate than the one before. It also seemed to open the floodgates of my desire.

Acting on part instinct and part impulse, I tried to pull him even closer, but managed to rip his shirt in the process. This stirred up the animal in him as he grabbed the ruined scrap of material and tore it the rest of the way off of his body. Seeing his bare chest for the first time made me want him even more, so I launched myself toward him, knocking him over in the process. As we tumbled to the ground, Edward let out a growl that was full of primal lust. I felt my body responding to his call as he rolled us over and pinned me beneath him in an obvious move of declaring dominance. For some reason, I had no desire to fight him on this. I was perfectly happy letting him be the dominant one in this newly established relationship. It just felt right.

When his hands explored my body, while we kissed under the stars, I knew that I was right to have waited all of that time for him. He was worth it. Even though I could see the urgency in his eyes to claim me, and make me his for all eternity, he tried to hold back and take it slow. He knew that it was all new to me, so he wanted to take his time and make it special. What he didn't take into account was that my vampire passion was just as strong as his and there was no way that I was going to be able to hold out. I didn't have half the self-control that he had. We had waited long enough in my opinion.

Something inside told me that talking to him about it would just lead to a conversation and I was in no mood for talking, so I did just the opposite. I took action. I flipped him over and pinned him to the ground, claiming dominance and daring him to take it back. I could see the fire in his eyes and he shoved me off of him and jumped to his feet. I followed his lead and stood, taking a fighting stance.

"What are you doing, Bella? Why are you fighting me?"

We circled each other, looking for weaknesses and planning our attack. "I'm not fighting you, Edward. I'm taking what's mine."

I could see the confusion on Edward's face for a fraction of a second before he realized what I was talking about. He hesitated and said, "We don't have to rush things, Bella. We have all the time in the world."

"We've waited long enough, Edward. I'm tired of waiting." I lunged for him, but he dodged at the last second, so I missed.

"You can't beat me, Bella. I'm faster and stronger than you now. You don't have the same newborn strength that you did a year ago. I can take you now."

I cocked my eyebrow and challenged, "Okay, then take me."

I'm sure Edward would have been blushing when he realized what he had just said. "That's not what I meant."

"It is exactly what I meant. I know you want to. You are just trying to be a gentleman. I understand and appreciate what you are trying to do, but it is unnecessary. I want you, Edward. I want you to make me yours. Mark me and show the world who I belong to. If you are unable to do that, then I'll mark you and show the world that you are my bitch."

Edward looked both shocked and offended. "I'm no one's bitch, Bella."

"Really? Prove it!" I lunged for him again, but this time I anticipated his move and adjusted accordingly. I hit him square in the chest, knocking him into a nearby tree, nearly uprooting it.

Edward shifted the tree back into its upright position before turning back to me and saying, "You don't know what you're asking for, Bella."

"I was a nurse, Edward. Do you really think I don't know what I want, or are you just too much a coward to give it to me? Maybe I really should mark you, so the world will know that I wear the pants in this relationship. At least Emmett won't be the only man in in this family that is completely dominated by his woman."

This was what finally set him off. Edward launched at me in a move that was lightning fast and full of fury. "You do not dominate me, Bella!"

He grabbed me, but I countered and knocked him to the ground. "It doesn't look like it from this end. I think I just might like this. Are you going to help Esme clean the house while I run patrols and hunt with Carlisle and Jasper?"

Edward looked pissed, "Fuck you, Bella!"

He launched at me again, this time catching me slightly off center and knocking me to the ground.

I fought him as he tried to pin me, knocking two more trees over in the process. He was growling fiercely as he fought me for dominance. Somehow our clothes managed to get shredded in the process of fighting. They were still covering all of the necessary parts, but they were definitely going to end up in the trash when we got home.

Edward finally managed to get my hands pinned above my head, but I got my legs wrapped around his waist. I was just about to kick him off of me, when I felt his hardness press against me in just the right spot. I looked up into his eyes and saw the fury shift to passion. Before I could say a word, his lips crashed into mine and his ferocious growls turned to a rumbling purr.

There were no conversations or second thoughts this time. As his hands wandered across my body, he ripped away the material that stood in his way. He had no patience for removing our clothing gently. They were already ruined anyway, so why bother.

Once he had us both completely naked, he settled between my legs and kissed me passionately before looking deep into my eyes, as if he were looking into my soul. "You are mine for all eternity."

He pushed inside me, causing us both to cry out in pleasure. "Yes, Edward. I'm yours. Always yours."

We made love for hours, on top of the mountain surrounded by the beautiful colors in the sky. When we both reached the peak or our passion, Edward bit my neck, officially marking me as his own. I thought that couldn't possibly be any happier that I was at that moment, but I was wrong.

Two years after I started my new life as a vampire, I finally married the love of my life and started living my happily ever after.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed this short story. I wrote it quite some time ago and just recently decided to go ahead and post it. I have several of these short stories that start out as a detailed outline of a story idea and then end up getting pushed aside while I work on something else. As I re-read them, I usually add on to them or make changes. This one has pretty much stayed the same since its original concept, so I decided to go ahead and share it. Let me know what you think by posting a review.**

**Thank you,**

**A Little Distracted**


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